In this area of study, students will obtain multidisciplinary
basic information of the field and its methods and specialise in
one of its many application areas.

Language technology investigates, develops and applies methods
for the processing of natural language. Human beings communicate
and store information, experiences and knowledge by means of
language, whether oral or written. At first glance, language may
seem to be something simple and self-evident. The reality, however,
is quite different. Though language is rule-bound, it can also be
quite ambiguous. This becomes very apparent in language technology,
where one attempts to teach and program computers to recognise and
produce language. Describing natural languages (such as Finnish or
English) for the purposes of parsing and recognition demands a firm
command of the target language and of its structure. Language
technology also includes quite demanding computational tasks.
Language technology is an appropriate and motivating field of
cooperative work for students interested in language as well as for
technology- and humanities-oriented students.

In addition to applications, the student may specialise in
language technology methods, research and development.

Minor studies for the language technology
student

Advanced-stage major students are required to take the Java
programming studies available for computer science minors. The
share of computer science basic studies in these is 9 cr, so
completing 25 cr of basic studies is recommended for language
students who are continuing on to advanced studies or a Master's
degree. Computer science studies may be incorporated into the
language technology grade by separate agreement, e.g., Java
programming may, if one desires, be included as elective
intermediate studies of language technology.

Students who would specialise in both general linguistics and
language technology may take general linguistics as a minor of
language technology and vica versa, as long as courses with the
same content are not included in both the study modules.
Alternatively, many general linguistics courses may be subsumed in
language technology studies. Elective studies in language
technology should be taken in place of studies that have
already been included in the degree studies.

KIT, a language-technology educational network between a number
of departments and universities, offers courses suitable for
inclusion in language-technology study modules. The most current
information about the KIT network is on the website (
www.ling.helsinki.fi/kit/). To take a KIT
course, students need a Flexible Study Rights Agreement (JOO) with
the university that teaches the course.

Language technology as a minor subject

The student can take language technology as a minor subject
provided that s/he has taken Introductory linguistics CYK110. The
student can obtain the study right by sending the professor a
signed free-form application and a copy of the study register.

The exact composition of the basic and intermediate study
modules can be individually arranged; in the case of advanced
studies, individual arrangements are a necessity. A HOPS plan
should be prepared at the beginning of studies and be updated as
studies progress. Study units may often be completed by book
examination or as independent studies. Plans for completing,
combining and substituting studies should be arranged beforehand
with the professor in charge of compiling the study module.

When the student has completed basic studies, s/he will have a
basic knowledge of general linguistics and of the technical
environment necessary for language technology applications, as well
as an overview of the areas of application. When intermediate
studies are completed, the student will understand the basic
structure of the language, be able to edit and process linguistic
materials, use essential language-technology methods, and design
simple linguistic-technical computer modules with the aid of tools.
When advanced studies have been completed, the student will also
understand the operations of the methods and how they may be
applied to more extensive tasks.